Archives For
Kelsey

I want to start this post by saying that having a sick kid can be a very scary thing. We think it is the worst! It is exhausting and sad to see your child not at full health. It makes it even harder when you feel judgement from others on how to parent your sick child. Every time Rooney has been sick, I have felt judgement by the questions people ask and the suggestions they make over and over. I don’t understand this. Maybe they are just trying to be helpful but it has been hard for me to not take it personally. Each kid deals with sickness differently and I am certainly still learning how Rooney deals with it but I think my maternal instinct should count for something! The last time Rooney was sick I totally lost my cool over it to Eric. That said, this post may not be for you. If you are curious about what natural remedies are available, keep reading. If you choose to schedule a doctor’s appointment the moment your child has a fever and that’s working for your family, great! I bet you know your child better than I know your child. Maybe that is best for your peace of mind. I will not question you on this. I will not hound you to choose a different way. Because moms are the smartest and they know what’s best! Some parents stay home with their kids, making it easier to avoid antibiotics and vaccines if they want. Working parents can certainly have a harder time because there are usually a limited number of sick days they can take and day cares have rules about being symptom-free for 24 hours before coming back and vaccination forms that need to be signed. Sometimes working parents want their child to get on antibiotics as soon as possible so they can get back to work. I am lucky in that I can work from home when needed, which helps us out a ton since this stuff is really important to us. Rooney has never been on an antibiotic, but she has been vaccinated. Well, I guess I had penicillin during labor for group B strep so technically she did have antibiotics on her first day of life. I think there are times when antibiotics are necessary, but in general they are scary to me. Antibiotics kill bacteria (good and bad) so you are actually more susceptible to the same illness in the coming weeks because your defenses are down. I’m not a biologist but something about it wiping out your gut flora. (If Rooney has an antibiotic someday, I will try to counteract with probiotics.) I do feel the need for one more disclaimer: This is all very new to me. I never thought I’d be this “crunchy.” It all started back when Rooney was diagnosed with torticolis at 2 months…that was my tipping point. I have learned so much since then about natural living. Some of these things we do are more granola than others. Most sounded weird to us at first, but as we have done them and seen them work, we are more comfortable with them. I hope that if you are thinking about homeopathics that this will give you confidence to give it a try! Continue Reading…

It’s crazy for me to think that just two years ago I used to throw a fit when Eric wanted to go to Hy-Vee. We were shopping at Dahl’s (another local grocery store) most of the time because it was on the way home from our work.

I went to Dahl’s a couple weeks ago because it’s within biking distance (can’t wait for the new Hy-Vee to open in August!) and was amazed at what a sad little store it is. Their organic produce section is basically nonexistent. I bought three things: bananas, avocados and pita chips. Which worked out OK because I couldn’t carry much more in my bike basket.

Anyway. I have fallen in love with Hy-Vee now for many reasons. They are so friendly. The customer service is great (a couple times I’ve had bad bananas and they’ve given me a free bunch the next time I come in). They have stocked two things I’ve requested (Krema peanut butter and Van’s Ancient Grain frozen waffles) without any questions. It’s also on the way home from my new job, so that’s a plus. And, Rooney loves their shopping carts

I’ve been asked a couple times how we transitioned Rooney from formula to milk and from bottles to sippy cups so quickly. So, before I forget, here goes!

^^^one of the last bottles Rooney ever had

Formula to milk:

We decided to wean Rooney from formula to organic whole milk. There didn’t seem to be an awesomealternative for whole milk (for our family), so we did what families do and introduced her to cow’s milk. (A couple months later, we switched to coconut milk.) Anyway, the milk switch for us went quite smooth. We did it before we switched to sippy cups, because I thought it would be easier. She didn’t seem to notice much of a difference in taste.